Photoelectric Effect and

Compton Effect

e-content for B.Sc Physics (Honours)

B.Sc Part-II
Paper-IV

Dr. Ayan Mukherjee,

Assistant Professor,
Department of Physics,
Ram Ratan Singh College, Mokama.
Patliputra University, Patna

1
  26.1The Photoelectric Effect
First observed by Heinrich Hertz in 1887 ‐ 
light shining on a metal plate causes  The Photoelectric Effect 
electrons to be knocked loose (ejected)  “The phenomenon that when light shines on a metal surface, electro   
 from the metal plate.  are emitted” 
Several aspects of the phenomena could  One type of experiment with the photoelectric effect involves 
not be explained in terms of an  shining light of a single frequency onto the  
 electromagnetic wave: metal plate and adjusting the potential difference V between the 
  Increasing the brightness of the light did not eject faster electrons ‐  metal plate and the collector 
 
think of light as a wave ‐  brighter light (bigger amplitude wave)    
 
• If electrons are hitting the collector, there is a current reading in 
should eject more energetic (faster) electrons.  the ammeter
Energy and number of ejected electrons depends on light(frequency)   
‐ for some metals, red light would not eject any electrons at all even 
it very high ‐ blue lights ejects very fast electrons even if very dim. 
The electrons were emitted immediately ‐ no time lag ‐ if light is dim, 
expect a delay while the waves wiggle the electrons and break them 
loose.   

 Photoelectric Effect Schematic Photo‐electric effect observations 
•A)The kinetic energy of the 
• When light strikes E,   photoelectrons is independent of 
photoelectrons  are emitted  the light intensity.  

• Electrons collected at C and  •B)The kinetic energy of the 
passing through the ammeter  photoelectrons, for a given emitting 
are a current in the circuit  material, depends only on the 
frequency of the light. 
• C is maintained at a positive 
potential by the power supply  •C)When photoelectrons are 
produced, their number (not  d)Also, the photoelectrons are 
their kinetic energy) is  emitted almost instantly following 
proportional to the intensity  illumination of the photocathode, 
of light.   independent of the intensity of the 
light. 
 4  
  Photoelectric Current/Voltage Graph Cutoff Wavelength 
• The current increases 
• The cutoff wavelength is related to the work function 
with intensity, but 
 
reaches a saturation level  hc
for large ΔV’s 
  λ c
=
w
 
• No current flows for  • Wavelengths greater than λC incident on a material with a 
voltages less than or  work function w  don’t result in the emission of 
equal to –ΔVs, the  photoelectrons 
stopping potential 
• The stopping potential is 
independent of the 
radiation intensity 
 6

A specific value of V can be found at which the ammeter reading 
just drops to zero 
. This is called the stopping potential (Vstop).  When the maximum 
• When the potential is at Vstop the most energetic electrons were  kinetic energy is plotted as 
turned back just before hitting the collector.  a function of frequency a 
• This indicates that the maximum kinetic energy of the  graph like that on the right 
photoelectrons, Kmax= e Vstop where  e is the elementary charge  results. 
.
interestingly, it was found that Kmax does not depend upon the  • Note that there is no 
intensity of the incident light.  photoelectric effect if the 
• It is difficult to explain this observation with classical  light is below a certain 
cutoff  frequency, f0. This 
occurs no matter how 
bright the incident light is.
Photoelectric effect graphs for  Features Not Explained by Classical 
three different metals are shown a tright.. 
• Looking at the second form of the 
 Physics/Wave Theory
photoelectric equation, several 
pieces of information can be  • No electrons are emitted if the incident light 
determined from the graphs.  frequency is below some cutoff frequency that is 
– The work function of each metal can 
be determined by taking the negative 
characteristic of the material being illuminated 
y‐intercept of each line.  • The maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons is 
– The cutoff frequency of each metal 
can be determined by taking the x intercept of  independent of the light intensity 
each line  • The maximum kinetic energy of the photoelectrons 
– Note that all three lines have the 
same slope. This slope is Planck’s  increases with increasing light frequency 
constant • Electrons are emitted from the surface almost 
instantaneously, even at low intensities 
 

Quantum Theory of The Atom 
 Explanation of Classical “Problems” – In 1901, Max Planck suggested light was made up of 
‘packets’ of energy: 
• The effect is not observed below a certain cutoff –  
frequency since the photon energy must be greater than   E = nhf
or equal to the work function
E  (Energy of Radiation) 
– Without this, electrons are not emitted, v  (Frequency) 
regardless of the intensity of the light n  (Quantum Number)  =  1,2,3…….n 
• The maximum KE depends only on the frequency and h  (Planck’s Constant, a Proportionality Constant) 
the work function, not on the intensity
          6.626 x 10‐34 J.s)    or     h =4.135x10‐15 ev.s 
• The maximum KE increases with increasing frequency
          6.626 x 10‐34 kg.m2/s 
• The effect is instantaneous since there is a one-to-one – Atoms, therefore, emit only certain quantities of energy 
interaction between the photon and the electron and the energy of an atom is described as being 
“quantized” 
– Thus, an atom changes its energy state by emitting (or 
absorbing) one or more quanta 
   ‐
 Photons 
Quantum theory describes light as   Einsteins explanation 
a particle called a photon with wave   proposed an explanation for the photoelectric effetc  
   which would play a large role in  his receiving the Nobel Prize
 According to quantum theory, a photon has an energy given by  in Physics in 1921. 
E = hν = hc/λ           (h Planck’s constant  = 6.6x10‐34 J.sec )  • Rather than the classical model of light as a continuous 
                              or h = 4.135 x10‐15 eV.s    ,  
wave, Einstein viewed light as discrete packets of energy 
The energy of the light is proportional to the frequency, and inversely 
proportional to the wavelength! The higher the frequency (lower  called photons.  hf , 2hf    ,3hf……  nhf 
wavelength) the higher the energy of the photon!  • Taking advantage of Planck’s discovery of the quantization 
10 photons have an energy equal to ten times a single photon.  of energy, Einstein determined that each photon had 
 The quantum theory describes experiments to astonishing precision,  energy E=hf. The energy transferred to an electron • by light 
whereas the classical wave description cannot.  was no longer considered to depend on intensity,  but on 
frequency 
 
 

 Einstein’s Explanation
 Einstein’s Explanation
The electrons are bound to the material by attractive 
forces. Hence, work must be done to free an  • Energy from the light beam is transferred to the
electron:  electrons in the solid by photons which have an
“Work  energy related to the frequency of the beam.
function”,    • The photon’s energy would be E = h ƒ
depends on  • Each photon can give all its energy to an electron
the material  in the metal
 hf=K Emax+ w • The electron is considered to be in a well of height
frequency which is called the work function of the
 
Minimum work  metal
required to free 
Incident photon energy 
electron   • Because of energy conservation the maximum
Maximum kinetic energy  kinetic energy of the liberated photoelectron is
of dislodged electron  KE = h ƒ – w 
 
Work Function Light as a Particle (Photon) 
Work function is: The minimum amount of energy that has to be given  ™Light propagates as quanta of energy called photons 
to an electron to release it from the surface of the material and varies  ™Photons    

depending on the material A) move with speed of light 
 Threshold Frequency B) have no mass 
hfo =w  C) electrically neutral 
hc  = w  ™ Energy of a photon or electromagnetic wave: 
    hc
  λo   E = hf =
  where  λ
c = speed of light    h = Planck’s constant 
  λo =  wavelength    f = frequency of a light wave ‐ number of    
  crests passing a fixed point in 1 second 
  c = velocity of light 
  λ = wavelength of a light wave ‐ 
     distance between successive crests 
 

Example 26.1
Light is incident on the surface of a metal for which the work function  example 
is 2eV  (a) what is the minimum frequency the light can have and cause 
the emission of electron ? (b) If the frequency of the incident light is  What is the wavelength in nm of orange light, which 
2x1014Hz what is the maximum kinetic energy of the electron?  has a frequency of 4.80 x 1014 s−1? 
solution 
 c = λ × ν 
       c     2.998×108 m s−1  
λ = −− = −−−−−−−−−−−−   = 6.25 × 10−7 m 
       ν      4.80 × 1014 s−1  
 
                             1 nm 
6.25 × 10−7 m × −−−−−−−−− = 625 nm 
                         1 × 10−9 m 

 20
 example
What is the maximum kinetic energy of electrons
emitted from a zinc surface if they are stopped by
a 16 N/C uniform electric field over a distance of example 
3.0cm? What is threshold frequency of a material with 
a work function of 10eV? 
First calculate the   Second, calculate the  Since the value for the work function is given in  
voltage E = V/d   maximum kinetic energy… electron volts, we might as well use the value for
V = E d Ek max= e Vstop   Planck’s constant that is in eV s.
(16N/C).(0.03m)  = (1.6 x 10‐19C) (0.48V)  W = h fo
V = 0.48V  Ek max= 7.68 x 10‐20 J  fo = W / h
= (10eV) / (4.14 x 10-15eVs)
fo = 4.14 x 10-14 Hz

 21

26.3 XRAYS
The Compton Effect 
In 1924, A. H. Compton performed an experiment  
where X‐rays impinged on matter, and he measured  
the scattered radiation. 
 Incident X‐ray
 M  Louis de Broglie
 wavelength  A
 λ 1
λ2  > λ1 
 T
Scattered X‐ray  
Home work  : 26‐1, 26‐3 ,26‐4  T
 E  
 R
wavelength  
 e
λ2 
 Electron comes flying out
Compton directed a beam of x‐rays toward a block of graphite 
He found that the scattered x‐rays had a slightly longer wavelength that the 
incident x‐rays  This means they also had less energy the amount of energy reduction  
depended on the angle at which the x‐rays were scattered 
The change in wavelength is called the Compton shift 
The Compton shift depends on the scattering angle and not on the wavelength 
 Compton effect was first observed by Arthur Compton in 
1923 and this discovery led to his award of the 1927 Nobel 
Prize in Physics.  The discovery is important because it 
demonstrates that light cannot be explained purely as a 
wave phenomenon. Compton's work convinced the 
scientific community that light can behave as a stream of 
particles (photons) whose energy is proportional to the 
frequency. 
The change in wavelength of the scattered photon is given 
by: 
hf ′ = hf − Eel h h
λ '− λ = (1− cosθ ) λCe =
mec
≈ 2.43×10−12 m
mec

 Interpretation of Compton Effect example 
In the Compton scattering  the experiment  the incident 
x ray  have a frequency of 1020 Hz at certain angle the 
 “Light particle”
outgoing  x ray have frequency of 8x10 19 Hz find the 
energy of the recoiling electron in electron volts 
 λ 1

 λ 2

 Before Collision  After Collision
Eel = hf − hf ′ = h( f − f ′)
The Compton Effect describes collisions of light with electrons  = (4.135 ×10−15 ev.s)(1020 Hz − 8 × 1019 ) = 82.700 eV
perfectly if we treat light as a particle with: 
 
  p = h/λ     and    E = hν 
              = hc/λ = (h/λ)c  
= pc  
Example:  
Example
Determine  the  change  in  the  photon’s  wavelength 
A 0.700‐MeV photon scatters off a free 
that  occurs  when  an  electron  scatters  an  x‐ray  electron such that the scattering angle of 
photon (a) at θ =180° and (b) θ =30°.  the photon is twice the scattering angle of 
the electron (Fig. ). Determine (a) the 
Δλ=λC(1‐cosθ)   scattering angle for the electron and (b) the 
(a) Δ λ=2.43×10‐12 m (1‐cos180°)  final speed of the electron. 

Δλ=4.86×10‐12 m  -1
(b) Δλ=2.43×10‐12 m (1‐cos30) 
   0.134  

Δλ=(0.134)×(2.43×10‐12 m) 
Δλ =3.26×10‐13 m 

  X‐Rays  Production of X‐rays
• Electromagnetic radiation with short wavelengths  • X‐rays are produced when high‐
– Wavelengths less than for ultraviolet  speed electrons are suddenly 
slowed down 
– Wavelengths are typically about 0.1 nm  – Can be caused by the electron 
– X‐rays have the ability to penetrate most  striking a metal target 
materials with relative ease   
• Discovered and named by Roentgen in 1895  • A current in the filament causes 
electrons to be emitted 
• These freed electrons are 
accelerated toward a dense 
metal target 
  Production of X‐rays  X‐ray Spectrum
• An electron passes near a  • The x‐ray spectrum has two distinct 
target nucleus  components 
• The electron is deflected from  • 1) Bremsstrahlung:  
its path by its attraction to the  • A continuous broad spectrum, 
nucleus  which depends on voltage applied 
– This produces an acceleration  to the tube 
• It will emit electromagnetic  • 2) The sharp, intense lines, which 
radiation when it is accelerated  depend on the nature of the target 
The maximum x‐ray energy, and minimum  material 
wavelength results when the electron loses all its  eΔV = hfmax = hc/λmin     λ min
energy in a single collision, such that 
hc hc
  λmin = λmin =
eΔV eΔV
eΔV = hfmax = hc/λmin  or therefore

Examples
   Example
 An electron is accelerated through 50,000 volts
 What is the minimum wavelength photon it can produce when striking a target?

    Minimum wavelength Maximum energy

hc 6.6 ×10 −34 × 3 × 108

λmin = = = .0248nm
V 50000

35
1.3: PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT EXPLAINED WITH QUANTUM HYPOTHESIS
OVERVIEW
Although Hertz discovered the photoelectron in 1887, it was not until 1905 that a theory was proposed that explained the effect completely. The theory was proposed by Einstein and it
made the claim that electromagnetic radiation had to be thought of as a series of particles, called photons, which collide with the electrons on the surface and emit them. This theory ran
contrary to the belief that electromagnetic radiation was a wave and thus it was not recognized as correct until 1916 when Robert Millikan experimentally confirmed the theory

Nature, it seemed, was quantized (non-continuous, or discrete). If this was so, how could Maxwell’s equations correctly predict this result? Planck spent a good deal of time attempting to
reconcile the behavior of electromagnetic waves with the discrete nature of the blackbody radiation, to no avail. It was not until 1905, with yet another paper published by Albert Einstein, that
the wave nature of light was expanded to include the particle interpretation of light which adequately explained Planck’s equation.
The photoelectric effect was first documented in 1887 by the German physicist Heinrich Hertz and is therefore sometimes referred to as the Hertz effect. While working with a spark-gap
transmitter (a primitive radio-broadcasting device), Hertz discovered that upon absorption of certain frequencies of light, substances would give off a visible spark. In 1899, this spark was
identified as light-excited electrons (also called photoelectrons) leaving the metal's surface by J.J. Thomson (Figure 1.3.1 ).

Figure 1.3.1: The Photoelectric Effect involves the irradiating a metal surface with photons of sufficiently high energy to causes electrons to be ejected from the metal.

The classical picture  underlying the photoelectron effect was that the atoms in the metal contained electrons, that were shaken and caused to vibrate by the oscillating electric field of the
incident radiation. Eventually some of them would be shaken loose, and would be ejected from the cathode. It is worthwhile considering carefully how the number and speed of electrons
emitted would be expected to vary with the intensity and color of the incident radiation along with the time needed to observe the photoelectrons.
Increasing the intensity of radiation would shake the electrons more violently, so one would expect more to be emitted, and they would shoot out at greater speed, on average.
Increasing the frequency of the radiation would shake the electrons faster, so it might cause the electrons to come out faster. For very dim light, it would take some time for an electron to
work up to a sufficient amplitude of vibration to shake loose.

LENARD'S EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS (INTENSITY DEPENDENCE)

In 1902, Hertz's student, Philipp Lenard, studied how the energy of the emitted photoelectrons varied with the intensity of the light. He used a carbon arc light and could increase the intensity
a thousand-fold. The ejected electrons hit another metal plate, the collector, which was connected to the cathode by a wire with a sensitive ammeter, to measure the current produced by the
illumination (Figure 1.3.2 ). To measure the energy of the ejected electrons, Lenard charged the collector plate negatively, to repel the electrons coming towards it. Thus, only electrons ejected
with enough kinetic energy to get up this potential hill would contribute to the current.

Figure 1.3.2: Millikan's photoelectric experiment. (left) High light intensity increase photocurrent (number of collected photoelectrons). (right) Low light intensity has reduced photocurrent. However, the
kinetic energy of the ejected electrons is independent of incident light intensity.
Lenard discovered that there was a well defined minimum voltage that stopped any electrons getting through (V ). To Lenard's surprise, he found that V
stop
did not depend at all on the
stop

intensity of the light! Doubling the light intensity doubled the number of electrons emitted, but did not affect the kinetic energies of the emitted electrons. The more powerful oscillating field
ejected more electrons, but the maximum individual energy of the ejected electrons was the same as for the weaker field (Figure 1.3.2 ).

MILLIKAN'S EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS (WAVELENGTH DEPENDENCE)

The American experimental physicist Robert Millikan followed up on Lenard's experiments and using a powerful arc lamp, he was able to generate sufficient light intensity to separate out the
colors and check the photoelectric effect using light of different colors. He found that the maximum energy of the ejected electrons did depend on the color - the shorter wavelength, higher
frequency light caused electrons to be ejected with more energy (Figures 1.3.3 ).

Figure 1.3.3: Millikan's photoelectric experiment (left) High-energy blue light. The battery represents the potential Lenard used to charge the collector plate negatively, which would actually be a variable
voltage source. Since the electrons ejected by the blue light are getting to the collector plate, the potential supplied by the battery is less than V , for blue light. (right) Low-energy red light. Since the electrons
stop

ejected by the blue light are not getting to the collector plate, the potential supplied by the battery exceeds V
stop for red light.
As shown in Figure 1.3.4 , just the opposite behavior from classical is observed from Lenard's and Millikan's experiments. The intensity affects the number of electrons, and the frequency
affects the kinetic energy of the emitted electrons. From these sketches, we see that
the kinetic energy of the electrons is linearly proportional to the frequency of the incident radiation above a threshold value of ν (no current is observed below ν ), and the kinetic energy is
0 0

independent of the intensity of the radiation, and

the number of electrons (i.e. the electric current) is proportional to the intensity and independent of the frequency of the incident radiation above the threshold value of ν (i.e., no current is
0

observed below ν ).
0

Figure 1.3.4: Schematic drawings showing the characteristics of the photoelectric effect from Lenard's and Millikan's experiments. (A) The kinetic energy of any single emitted electron increases linearly with
frequency above some threshold value (B) The electron kinetic energy is independent of the light intensity. (C) The number of electrons emitted per second (i.e. the electric current) is independent of
frequency. (D) The number of electrons increases linearly with the light intensity.

CLASSICAL THEORY DOES NOT DESCRIBE EXPERIMENT

Classical theory predicts that energy carried by light is proportional to its amplitude independent of its frequency, and this fails to correctly explain the observed wavelength dependence in
Lenard's and Millikan's  observations.

EINSTEIN'S QUANTUM PICTURE

In 1905 Einstein gave a very simple interpretation of Lenard's results and  borrowed  Planck's hypothesis about the quantized energy from his blackbody research and assumed that the
incoming radiation should be thought of as quanta of frequency hν , with ν the frequency. In photoemission, one such quantum is absorbed by one electron. If the electron is some distance
into the material of the cathode, some energy will be lost as it moves towards the surface. There will always be some electrostatic cost as the electron leaves the surface, this is usually called
the workfunction, Φ. The most energetic electrons emitted will be those very close to the surface, and they will leave the cathode with kinetic energy

K E = hν − Φ (1.3.1)

On cranking up the negative voltage on the collector plate until the current just stops, that is, to V stop
, the highest kinetic energy electrons (K E ) must have had energy eV
e stop
upon leaving the
cathode. Thus,
eV stop = hν − Φ (1.3.2)

Thus, Einstein's theory makes a very definite quantitative prediction: if the frequency of the incident light is varied, and V plotted as a function of frequency, the slope of the line should be
stop

e
(Figure 1.3.4 ). It is also clear that there is a minimum light frequency for a given metal ν , that for which the quantum of energy is equal to Φ (Equation 1.3.1 ). Light below that frequency,
o

no matter how bright, will not eject electrons.

Since, according to both Planck and Einstein, the energy of light is proportional to its frequency rather than its amplitude, there will be a
minimum frequency ν  needed to eject an electron with no residual energy (Equation 1.3.1).
0

Since every photon of sufficient energy excites only one electron, increasing the light's intensity (i.e. the number of photons/sec) only increases the number of released electrons and not their
kinetic energy. In addition, no time is necessary for the atom to be heated to a critical temperature and therefore the release of the electron is nearly instantaneous upon absorption of the light.
Finally, because the photons must be above a certain energy to satisfy the workfunction, a threshold frequency exists below which no photoelectrons are observed. This frequency is measured
in units of Hertz (1/second) in honor of the discoverer of the photoelectric effect.

Einstein's Equation 1.3.1  explains the properties of the photoelectric effect quantitatively. A strange implication of this experiment is that light can behave as a kind of massless "particle" now
known as a photon whose energy E = hν  can be transferred to an actual particle (an electron), imparting kinetic energy to it, just as in an elastic collision between to massive particles such as
billiard balls.

Robert Millikan initially did not accept Einstein's theory, which he saw as an attack on the wave theory of light, and worked for ten years until 1916, on the photoelectric effect. He even
devised techniques for scraping clean the metal surfaces inside the vacuum tube. For all his efforts he found disappointing results: he confirmed Einstein's theory after ten years. In what he
writes in his paper, Millikan is still desperately struggling to avoid this conclusion. However, by the time of his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, he has changed his mind rather drastically!

Einstein's simple explanation (Equation 1.3.1 ) completely accounted for the observed phenomena in Lenard's and Millikan's experiments (Figure  1.3.4 ) and began an investigation into the
field we now call quantum mechanics. This new field seeks to provide a quantum explanation for classical mechanics and create a more unified theory of physics and thermodynamics. The
study of the photoelectric effect has also lead to the creation of new field of photoelectron spectroscopy. Einstein's theory of the photoelectron presented a completely different way to measure
Planck's constant than from black-body radiation.

THE WORKFUNCTION (Φ)

The workfunction  is an intrinsic property of the metal. While the workfunctions and ionization energies appear as similar concepts, they are independent.  The workfunction of a metal is
the minimum amount of energy (E) necessary to remove an electron from the surface of the bulk (solid) metal.
+ −
M(s) + E → M (s) + e (free) (1.3.3)

This is qualitatively similar to ionization energy, which is the amount of energy required to remove an electron from an atom or molecule in the gaseous state.
+ −
M(g) + E → M (g) + e (free) (1.3.4)

These two energies are generally different (Table 1.3.1 ). For instance, copper has a workfunction of about 4.7 eV, but has a higher ionization energy of 7.7 eV. Generally, the ionization energies
for metals are greater than the corresponding workfunctions (the electrons are more tightly bound in metals).
 Table 1.3.1: Workfunctions and Ionization Energies of Select Elements
Element workfunction Φ (eV) Ionization Energy (eV)

Copper (Cu) 4.7 7.7

Silver (Ag) 4.72 7.57

Aluminum (Al) 4.20 5.98

Gold (Au) 5.17 9.22

Boron (B) 4.45 8.298

Beryllium (Be) 4.98 9.32

Bismuth (Bi) 4.34 7.29

Carbon (C) 5.0 11.26

Cesium (Ce) 1.95 3.89

Iron (Fe) 4.67 7.87

Gallium (Ga) 4.32 5.99

(Hg) liquid 4.47 10.43

Sodium (Na) 2.36 5.13

Lithium (Li) 2.93 5.39

Potassium 2.3 4.34

Selenium (Se) 5.9 9.75

Silicon (Si) 4.85 8.15

Tin (Sn) 4.42 7.34

Germanium (Ge) 5.0 7.89

Arsenic (As) 3.75 9.81

EXAMPLE 1.3.1 : CALCIUM

a. What is the energy in joules and electron volts of a photon of 420-nm violet light?
b. What is the maximum kinetic energy of electrons ejected from calcium by 420-nm violet light, given that the workfunction for calcium metal is 2.71 eV?

Strategy

To solve part (a), note that the energy of a photon is given by E = hν . For part (b), once the energy of the photon is calculated, it is a straightforward application of Equation 1.3.1 to find
the ejected electron’s maximum kinetic energy, since Φ is given.

Solution for (a)

Photon energy is given by

E = hν

Since we are given the wavelength rather than the frequency, we solve the familiar relationship c = ν λ for the frequency, yielding
c
ν =
λ

Combining these two equations gives the useful relationship

hc
E =
λ

Now substituting known values yields

−34 8
(6.63 × 10 J ⋅ s)(3.00 × 10 m/s)
E =
−9
420 × 10 m

−19
= 4.74 × 10 J

Converting to eV, the energy of the photon is

−19
1 eV
E = (4.74 × 10 J) ( )
−19
1.6 × 10 J

= 2.96 eV .

Solution for (b)

Finding the kinetic energy of the ejected electron is now a simple application of Equation 1.3.1 . Substituting the photon energy and binding energy yields
 K Ee = hν – Φ

= 2.96 eV – 2.71 eV

= 0.246 eV .

Discussion
The energy of this 420-nm photon of violet light is a tiny fraction of a joule, and so it is no wonder that a single photon would be difficult for us to sense directly—humans are more attuned
to energies on the order of joules. But looking at the energy in electron volts, we can see that this photon has enough energy to affect atoms and molecules. A DNA molecule can be broken
with about 1 eV of energy, for example, and typical atomic and molecular energies are on the order of eV, so that the UV photon in this example could have biological effects.
The ejected electron (called a photoelectron) has a rather low energy, and it would not travel far, except in a vacuum. The electron would be stopped by a retarding potential of 0.26 eV. In
fact, if the photon wavelength were longer and its energy less than 2.71 eV, then the formula would give a negative kinetic energy, an impossibility. This simply means that the 420-nm
photons with their 2.96-eV energy are not much above the frequency threshold. You can show for yourself that the threshold wavelength is 459 nm (blue light). This means that if calcium
metal is used in a light meter, the meter will be insensitive to wavelengths longer than those of blue light. Such a light meter would be insensitive to red light, for example.

EXERCISE 1.3.1

What is the longest-wavelength electromagnetic radiation that can eject a photoelectron from silver? Is this in the visible range?

Answer
Given that the workfunction is 4.73 eV from Table 1.3.1 , then only photons with wavelengths lower than 263 nm will induce photoelectrons. This is ultraviolet and not in the visible
range.

EXERCISE 1.3.2

Why is the workfunction generally lower than the ionization energy?

Answer
The workfunction of a metal refers to the minimum energy required to release an electron from the surface of a metal by a photon of light. The work function will vary from metal to
metal. The Ionization energy is the energy needed to release electrons from their bound states around atoms, it will vary with each particular atom, with one outer electron around that
atom needing less energy to release it than a lower, more closely bound electron, which requires greater energy because of the greater electrostatic force holding it closer to the
nucleus. The electrons in the metal lattice there less bound (i.e., free to move within the metal). Removing one of these electron is much easier than removing an electron from an atom
has a more tightly bound electron. So, the metallic bonds make it easier because multiple atoms (nuclei) "share" thes electrons, which reduces their binding energy (i.e., workfunction). 

SUMMARY
The photoelectric effect is the process in which electromagnetic radiation ejects electrons from a material. Einstein proposed photons to be quanta of electromagnetic radiation having energy
E = hν is the frequency of the radiation. All electromagnetic radiation is composed of photons. As Einstein explained, all characteristics of the photoelectric effect are due to the interaction of

individual photons with individual electrons. The maximum kinetic energy K E of ejected electrons (photoelectrons) is given by K E = hν – Φ , where hν is the photon energy and Φ is the
e e

workfunction (or binding energy) of the electron to the particular material.

CONCEPTUAL QUESTIONS
1. Is visible light the only type of electromagnetic radiation that can cause the photoelectric effect?
2. Which aspects of the photoelectric effect cannot be explained without photons? Which can be explained without photons? Are the latter inconsistent with the existence of photons?
3. Is the photoelectric effect a direct consequence of the wave character of electromagnetic radiation or of the particle character of electromagnetic radiation? Explain briefly.
4. Insulators (nonmetals) have a higher BE than metals, and it is more difficult for photons to eject electrons from insulators. Discuss how this relates to the free charges in metals that make
them good conductors.
5. If you pick up and shake a piece of metal that has electrons in it free to move as a current, no electrons fall out. Yet if you heat the metal, electrons can be boiled off. Explain both of these
facts as they relate to the amount and distribution of energy involved with shaking the object as compared with heating it.

CONTRIBUTORS
Michael Fowler (Beams Professor, Department of Physics, University of Virginia)
Mark Tuckerman (New York University)

Adapted from "Quantum States of Atoms and Molecules" by David M. Hanson, Erica Harvey, Robert Sweeney, Theresa Julia Zielinski
Paul Flowers (University of North Carolina - Pembroke),  Klaus Theopold (University of Delaware) and  Richard Langley (Stephen F. Austin State University) with contributing
authors. Textbook content produced by OpenStax College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 license. Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/85abf193-
2bd...a7ac8df6@9.110).